When we went skiing today at Bridger Bowl, many people were complaining that it was cold. I think it was in the low twenties; I hardly noticed. As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the snow report said it was 20 at the base and 15 mid-mountain. Since the slopes are east-facing, I would imagine that the temperature dropped quite a bit as the sun sank over the mountains.
My gosh! Temperatures in the 20s at Spirit Mountain in Duluth would be a warm winter day.
Showing posts with label Bozeman MT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bozeman MT. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Our ski vacation is more than half over:(
The first two days at Bridger Bowl, a nonprofit community ski area, outside Bozeman , Montana, stretched our midwestern ski legs. And I didn't do any harm to my bum knee. See "Pain relieves pain?"
We spent almost of our time using one of the lower lifts. The drill was two runs, coffee, a few more runs, lunch, a few more runs, another break, a few more runs, and drinks. We ventured to a higher lift once, but for a variety of reasons we returned to the lower lift. My wife does prefer skiing the green (easy) runs. I timed a couple of these lower runs at about 15-20 minutes round trip, depending on the lift slow downs. At Spirit Mountain in Duluth a round trip is about seven to ten minutes. I also made a fast timed run, less than two-and-a-half minutes from top to bottom. We generally do about four to five minutes together. So, even though we aren't getting much in challenging skiing, we are getting in more than normal.
The weather has been nice, just below freezing, little wind, and a mix of clouds and sun. Yesterday was interesting in that I could see blue sky to my right as I rode up the lift, but it was never overhead. The mountains squeezed the clouds together as they moved through the valley. We also had different layers of clouds.
There was enough sun to burn my cheeks, despite a couple applications of sunscreen.
Today was a different story. When I checked the Bridger Bowl snow report at eight o'clock this morning there was already five inches of new snow, and none outside our hotel in the valley.
On our first run we skied mostly the narrow band of groomed snow. But as the morning wore on and the snow continued we had a few inches of fresh snow. Although we mostly use the extend one leg, retract the other method of turning, when we get in difficulty we try just pointing our feet (rotation). It doesn't work. We had to work more conscientiously to extend the outside leg and retract the inside leg. We got better at it as the snow deepened.
We stopped at a mid-mountain lodge for lunch and I decided that I would try the lift near it that had a couple of "blue runs", (more difficult or for moderately skilled skiers). My wife declined and chatted with some other people while I ventured out.
To my surprise, the lift hut had a big black diamond sign saying "Expert skiers only". I asked the lift operator about it and he said the slopes weren't for beginners. So, up I went. As I went up, the slope didn't look so bad, and the lesser skilled skiers seemed to be doing all right.
At the top I got a small indication of what was ahead. It was quite a drop from the end of the lift to the starting area. I went over to the edge and looked down. There was lots and lots of skied powder, maybe twelve inches deep. Hoo boy! Worse, I could make out the contours of the snow only a few feet away. How am I going to negotiate this? I did know that the start of the run was "black" (most difficult), but I didn't envision it as this difficult. Stupid midwestern skier of groomed runs.
I started to slide down diagonally and then stopped. Repeat. Repeat again. I have to turn sometime. I started a turn and immediately pitched forward and one ski came off. Boy, was the snow deep! The one ski was out of reach above me. I was lucky that it wasn't completely buried, the heel binding was showing. I don't know how long it took me to get my skis back on. I had to make sure that both my boots and skis were clear of snow.
I repeated my diagonal descent in the opposite direction. Again there came a point that I should make a turn. This time I made a single turn, pointed my skis slightly uphill and stopped. Catch my breath, repeat in the opposite direction. Eventually I could link two turns before stopping. Remember, I have narrow "bare" spots bordered by big mounds of snow. Zip on the troughs, crash into the mounds. Then I linked three. Sometimes I linked five turns.
But I was really getting out of breath. I was just below 7,000 feet and had my poor sunburned face covered with a Gator. This face wraparound combined with goggles does impede breathing. I pulled it off and stuck it in my pocket.
I was now in the Blue area but still could only link a few turns before stopping. Ah, there is the chalet. Which way do I go? On a diagonal to another path? Or straight down to a gap in the fence? Straight down looks easier. Straight on my face I went. I don't remember if a ski came off or not, but I was up and ready to go again in a short time.
I made it into the gap with a few turns, took off my skis, joined the others, and sat a long time drinking water and letting my legs rest. Hey, Arch! My knee was less of a problem than my thighs and calves.
Finally I was ready to go but we would call it quits for the day. Down we went on the Green (easier) run to the main chalet. I did make a point of skiing in the powder, but now it was only three to four inches deep.
Tomorrow will be sunny with no new snow. Should I check the grooming report tomorrow to see if that "experts only" run was groomed tonight?
We spent almost of our time using one of the lower lifts. The drill was two runs, coffee, a few more runs, lunch, a few more runs, another break, a few more runs, and drinks. We ventured to a higher lift once, but for a variety of reasons we returned to the lower lift. My wife does prefer skiing the green (easy) runs. I timed a couple of these lower runs at about 15-20 minutes round trip, depending on the lift slow downs. At Spirit Mountain in Duluth a round trip is about seven to ten minutes. I also made a fast timed run, less than two-and-a-half minutes from top to bottom. We generally do about four to five minutes together. So, even though we aren't getting much in challenging skiing, we are getting in more than normal.
The weather has been nice, just below freezing, little wind, and a mix of clouds and sun. Yesterday was interesting in that I could see blue sky to my right as I rode up the lift, but it was never overhead. The mountains squeezed the clouds together as they moved through the valley. We also had different layers of clouds.
There was enough sun to burn my cheeks, despite a couple applications of sunscreen.
Today was a different story. When I checked the Bridger Bowl snow report at eight o'clock this morning there was already five inches of new snow, and none outside our hotel in the valley.
On our first run we skied mostly the narrow band of groomed snow. But as the morning wore on and the snow continued we had a few inches of fresh snow. Although we mostly use the extend one leg, retract the other method of turning, when we get in difficulty we try just pointing our feet (rotation). It doesn't work. We had to work more conscientiously to extend the outside leg and retract the inside leg. We got better at it as the snow deepened.
We stopped at a mid-mountain lodge for lunch and I decided that I would try the lift near it that had a couple of "blue runs", (more difficult or for moderately skilled skiers). My wife declined and chatted with some other people while I ventured out.
To my surprise, the lift hut had a big black diamond sign saying "Expert skiers only". I asked the lift operator about it and he said the slopes weren't for beginners. So, up I went. As I went up, the slope didn't look so bad, and the lesser skilled skiers seemed to be doing all right.
At the top I got a small indication of what was ahead. It was quite a drop from the end of the lift to the starting area. I went over to the edge and looked down. There was lots and lots of skied powder, maybe twelve inches deep. Hoo boy! Worse, I could make out the contours of the snow only a few feet away. How am I going to negotiate this? I did know that the start of the run was "black" (most difficult), but I didn't envision it as this difficult. Stupid midwestern skier of groomed runs.
I started to slide down diagonally and then stopped. Repeat. Repeat again. I have to turn sometime. I started a turn and immediately pitched forward and one ski came off. Boy, was the snow deep! The one ski was out of reach above me. I was lucky that it wasn't completely buried, the heel binding was showing. I don't know how long it took me to get my skis back on. I had to make sure that both my boots and skis were clear of snow.
I repeated my diagonal descent in the opposite direction. Again there came a point that I should make a turn. This time I made a single turn, pointed my skis slightly uphill and stopped. Catch my breath, repeat in the opposite direction. Eventually I could link two turns before stopping. Remember, I have narrow "bare" spots bordered by big mounds of snow. Zip on the troughs, crash into the mounds. Then I linked three. Sometimes I linked five turns.
But I was really getting out of breath. I was just below 7,000 feet and had my poor sunburned face covered with a Gator. This face wraparound combined with goggles does impede breathing. I pulled it off and stuck it in my pocket.
I was now in the Blue area but still could only link a few turns before stopping. Ah, there is the chalet. Which way do I go? On a diagonal to another path? Or straight down to a gap in the fence? Straight down looks easier. Straight on my face I went. I don't remember if a ski came off or not, but I was up and ready to go again in a short time.
I made it into the gap with a few turns, took off my skis, joined the others, and sat a long time drinking water and letting my legs rest. Hey, Arch! My knee was less of a problem than my thighs and calves.
Finally I was ready to go but we would call it quits for the day. Down we went on the Green (easier) run to the main chalet. I did make a point of skiing in the powder, but now it was only three to four inches deep.
Tomorrow will be sunny with no new snow. Should I check the grooming report tomorrow to see if that "experts only" run was groomed tonight?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I went to Wal-Mart today!
Here we sit in Bozeman MT ready to ski tomorrow as part of the annual Ski Hut trip. Tonight was the name tag party which was BYOB and BYOF, although there really was plenty of food.
So, we had to find somewhere to buy some drinks and food. From our hotel room we look out on a Wal-Mart and a huge parking lot. We checked at the front desk, and yes ,Wal-Mart sells beer and wine and can do so on Sunday.
What's the big deal about going to Wal-Mart? My regular readers know that I avoid going to big-box stores. I don't refuse to go to them, but if I can find a local store or restaurant, then I'll go there.
We walked out the front door of our hotel, through a gas station lot, down the street, and through the Wal-Mart parking lot. Inside was a humongous grocery store. We acknowledged the greeting of the big-box greeter and went on to get some of our usual super-fresh, super-nutritious stuff you can't get in a restaurant.
But I had no idea where the beer and wine was, and so I went back to the greeter. He graciously pointed out where they were. We added a six-pack of porter from a fifty-foot cooler with probably twice that many types of beer.
We pondered using the self-serve checkout but a neighboring cashier became free. She went on and on about having to put up with a smoker who just reeked of smoke even though he had no lit cigarette. We aided and abetted her with our sympathy.
The final indication of humanity in the midst of what many consider an impersonal monolith was the aforementioned greeter. He was busy helping some kids with a kid attraction by the door and thoroughly enjoying himself.
We probably will go back there a couple times this week. Not because Wal-Mart is a great place to shop, but because why should we drive all over town to learn where other shops are when we can just walk a few hundred feet?
See also "Why pick on McDonald's and Wal-Mart?"
So, we had to find somewhere to buy some drinks and food. From our hotel room we look out on a Wal-Mart and a huge parking lot. We checked at the front desk, and yes ,Wal-Mart sells beer and wine and can do so on Sunday.
What's the big deal about going to Wal-Mart? My regular readers know that I avoid going to big-box stores. I don't refuse to go to them, but if I can find a local store or restaurant, then I'll go there.
We walked out the front door of our hotel, through a gas station lot, down the street, and through the Wal-Mart parking lot. Inside was a humongous grocery store. We acknowledged the greeting of the big-box greeter and went on to get some of our usual super-fresh, super-nutritious stuff you can't get in a restaurant.
But I had no idea where the beer and wine was, and so I went back to the greeter. He graciously pointed out where they were. We added a six-pack of porter from a fifty-foot cooler with probably twice that many types of beer.
We pondered using the self-serve checkout but a neighboring cashier became free. She went on and on about having to put up with a smoker who just reeked of smoke even though he had no lit cigarette. We aided and abetted her with our sympathy.
The final indication of humanity in the midst of what many consider an impersonal monolith was the aforementioned greeter. He was busy helping some kids with a kid attraction by the door and thoroughly enjoying himself.
We probably will go back there a couple times this week. Not because Wal-Mart is a great place to shop, but because why should we drive all over town to learn where other shops are when we can just walk a few hundred feet?
See also "Why pick on McDonald's and Wal-Mart?"
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